Inexpensive, Creative and Eco-friendly Gift Ideas
Gifts for Children:
• The makings for hand puppets: Brown lunch bags, googly
eyes, stray buttons, scissors, markers, etc.
• Box of dress up clothes: Old dresses, high heel shoes,
cowboy boots, collared shorts, and millions of other fun outfit ideas can all be
found at thrift or second-hand stores have great selections.
• Jewelry kit: All you need is string, beads, and metal
clasps.
• Homemade Bird Feeder Kit: Give your kids a big box of edible
decorations (peanut butter, seeds, fruit, nuts, etc.) and some string and jars that
they can use to build their own.
• Write and illustrate a story with the child as the main character.
Homemade Gifts:
• Booklet of your favorite memories: Write or type up your favorite
memories of/with someone and lay it out in a book or on a page.
• Personalized cookbook: This is a great way to pass along
some of your favorite dishes.
• Set up a monthly lunch date or phone call: Perfect for
elderly friends or relatives.
Gifts of Art:
• For grandparents, a framed picture drawn by a grandchild is
the perfect present.
• Make your own cards and send them to relatives and good friends.
• Make your own calendar using cutout pictures, photos,
and/or drawings.
Gifts of Time:
• Create special activities with a significant other - a candlelit
dinner, massage, or outdoor activity.
• A monthly lunch date with an elderly relative or friend.
• Gift certificates: Dinner and a movie, a home-cooked meal,
a car wash, a day of babysitting, etc.
• Reconnect with someone: Call or write a friend you haven’t
seen in a few years.
• Do a good deed for someone, even if you remain anonymous, it
will make their holiday season.
Family Gifts:
• Make a photo album of times shared.
• A jigsaw puzzle for the whole family.
• Set up a family tournament in your favorite card game whether
it is Hearts, Spades, War, Go Fish, etc.
• Tickets to a favorite cultural or sporting event
• Go on a family hike, ride bikes, go to the beach or play
an active game together.
Gifts for the Environment:
• Take a friend off of junk mail lists: Generate automatic forms
with your recipient’s name and address at
Do Not Junk site to reduce unwanted mail by 50 percent. Present the forms
in stamped, addressed envelopes ready to sign and mail.
• Assemble a
Turn the Tide gift basket with compact fluorescent light bulbs, forms for getting
rid of junk mail, delicious recipes and a note about how the recipients can log
on to
www.turnthetide.org and see exactly how much of a positive impact they're having
on the environment.
• Buy a potted Christmas tree and replant after the holidays.
• Instead of new wrapping paper, reuse old paper—the Sunday comic’s
section, old maps, decorated brown grocery bags, or colorful pieces of material.
• Buy or make wildlife habitats and native plants.
Donations in the name of a Loved One:
• Give a donation to a local cause such as a soup kitchen, a shelter
for battered women, a local environment group, etc. Call local churches and charitable
organizations for ideas.
• Give a friend a membership to a non-profit organization.
JustGive.org allows you to donate online to thousands of charities.
•
Alternative Gifts International offers a wide array of global gifts that can
be given in the name of your friend or relative. Their partner organizations include
33 projects such as Fuel Efficient Stoves in El Salvador, Conquering Tuberculosis
in North Korea, Literacy Training in Senegal, Land Mine Awareness in Vietnam or
Organic Gardening in Belize. Contact Alternative Gifts at 1-800-842-2243, P.O Box
2267, Lucerne Valley, CA 92356. Free catalog from altgifts@sisp.net or
www.altgifts.org.
Re-gifting without Guilt
• Re-gift: Although many times the idea is mistaken to be a way
to get rid of your junk, when done right it can serve as a great way to save money,
and the earth’s resources
• Share a love of reading: Give away the last great book you bought
and enjoyed to someone who shares your taste.
• Shop thrift stores in your area or online: This serves
as a large-scale version of re-gifting where the options are endless. You’ll
be amazed at what people are giving away free or selling for almost nothing.
Courtesy of New American Dream:
www.newdream.org/holiday